YACHTING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 15, 12 October 1907, Page 9

YACHTING.

(By "Mainshect.") The yachting season will bo .opened on tho King's Birthday (No-, vemb'or 9), and yachtsmon .are at -present working hard so -as to. got their, craft in readiness for the opening: 'The. ceremony will in . all probability be a display in front of the ■ Queen's Wharf. It is stated that tho Port ■ Nicholson 'Yacht Club and tlie Port Nicholson Motor, Boat Club will combine on this occasion, so that, given fine, .weather (a very rare thing for tho King's Birthday), a good display of yachts and launches should be witnessed. This display will, probabljg take placo iii;Vt-ho 1 moriiihg,; v - : affcer f . which the boats will adjourn 'to Somes Island, where a picnic will, bo held, tc- which all tho, yachts and launches in -Wellington are invited. The annual meeting of the P.N.Y.C. was held last week, and I noticed that the old members of the club wero conspicuous' by their absence. The younger members of the Club, however, attended in-force to tho nuiAbor of forty. As a result the Executive for this season is composed mostly of new blood. This is a step in the right direction, and tho now stato of affairs should' eventually. make yachting the sport'j it should be. . ' , General regret is 'being expressed' in yachting circles at tho reported decision of Mr. Alex. Turnbull not to place his .yacht iorangi in commission this year. It is a great pity to see a fine yacht like the lorangi on the slip during the .'summer.. Mr; ■ Turn-, bull has givon .it out that, ho is'retiring from sport. Yachting . can illafford to loso a . gentleman - of the stamp of Mr. Turnbull, • and the lorangi will be greatly missed from tho first-class ' division. During his long career as a yachtsman tho. owner of tho lorangi has dono a great deal to help the sport along its troubled course. It is to be hoped that by tho time tho season commences Mr. Turnbull will be again seen at the helm of the lorangi. Tho new owners of the Ngaira. are making great strides with their ship. Those who have seen her recently are greatly. taken with' tho panel work in tho main cabin. It is a great thing to have a few tradesmen on. a yacht as crow, and the man who renovated the panels on the Ngaira undoubtedly knows his business. The' Ngaira will bo racing in tho first-class this season. Mr. J. M'Lean's Waitangi will also bo a starter in-the first-class events this season. Her owner has shipped a now crew, and tho "Wai." will soon bo ready; for launching as a .rosult of -their labours. Dr. Foil's Maliina is in clmrgo of tho painter at" present. Tho doctor has decided to paint tho Mawhia black this season. The Maliina will lilso be in tho water in timo for the opening. At tho annual mooting of tho P.N.Y.C. a motion was brought forward by tho Secretary which if passed would have mado a considerable alteration in the first, second, and third class yachts. 1 liavo often wondered why tho P.N.Y.C. allowed first-class yacht racing to reach Such a low ebb without milking somo alteration. '* The time has now arrived when something should bo done, and that at onco. I would suggest that tho Club adopt tho new international mode of rating, which favours a type of boat that would provo most successful in Wellington. Onco every year a race should bo put on tho anniversary programmo under the now international mode of rating, which would bo a championship event, and would encourage the building of a more serviceable typo of boat than tho present day "racing machines:" More about racing machines anon. Under the Club's rules the Committee lias the power to classify tho

yaclits for club handicap races into classes irrespective of size, etc. This power should be exorcised, and as a result I feel sure that more interesting clnb races would bo witnessed than tho boat races that aro soon in tho second and third classes at the present time. Tho first-class would also be benefited by such a' scheuio as this, and it sorely needs it. I will go so far as to suggest what classos tho different yachts should be classified into. An oven first-class would bo ! tho Waitangi, lorangi, Ngaira,- and | Syren. With good handicapping in- • torosting races would result with theso four yaclits. Tho secpnd-class to bo as follows:—Hahina, ;Atalanta, Janet, Kotiri, Wairere, Petrel, Muritai, Nancy Stair, and Taipare. This would be a fino oven class, and would not require much handicapping. The balance of tho yachts to bo classified as third-class.

The refusal of the New York Yacht Club to accept the challenge of Sir Thomas Lipton for tho America Cup has been adversely criticised by yachtsmen all over the world, especially in America. The stringent conditions imposed by the' New York Yacht Club practically mako the race a "racing machine" or a " freak" event. Owing to the challenger having to sail across tho Atlantic, it is necessary to build something stronger and more serviceable than a "racing machine." Tho American defenders ol' late years liavo all .been of the class known as the "freak." After doing their duty in the Cup races. they are generally labelled " fragile" or consigned to tho scrap heap. If the New; York Yacht Club adopted the International rule, England or any other nation would have a chance of lifting the America Cup out of: the Now York Yacht Club hands. The now rule, which has recently been .adopted by the principal yachting countries in Europe tor a term of ten years, does not differ materially from the lato Y.R.A. rule: It is the old Y.R.A. rule with amendments. Tho old formula was:—Length, plus beam, plus .75 girth, plus 4d, half the square root sail area ovor 2.1. The now formula is:—Length plus beam plus . i girth, plus 3d, plus one-third sail area, minus freeboard over 2. It will be seen that 3a in the now rule takes the placo of 4(1. .in the old, which. means that the penalty on hollow midsection is less severe than in tho lato rule, but it is still • severe enough to check any bad tendency. Tho tax in girth is reduced from. .75 to .5, which will tend to increase draught at midsection and improve tho weather qualities of the new type. The penalty on sail is decreased from i tho square root'to i the square root of sail area, consequently we will see some increase in sail. As increased sail' is of no uso , without : increassd power, power will, be' obtained '.by: in-, creascd' displacement;' the only "untaxed' element in a design. In addition to the usual direct tax-on beam, tho new rule is indirectly harder on beam owing to tho girth measurements at bow and fjtcrn below referred to, and this feature will tend to increase the length and the displacement of new boats in order to. obtain power. The chief feature of tho new rule is tho indirect tax on overhangs, especially at, the bow; the difference betweeu the bow end of waterlino and twico tho freeboard at that point is added to length, and 1-5 tho • corresponding, difference at the stern 'end of tho waterlino is also added to length'for measurements. To encourage good freeboard the mean freeboard is used as. a minus quantity in the new rule. The new rule will undoubtedly tend to improve the typo of racingyachts, as it cucourages larger internal accommodation and better seagoing qualities. The net result of tho rule, in my, opinion, will bo increased'length of waterlino in relation to beam; shorter overhangs, especially forward; sharper watorlines, soniowhat deeper sections, increased- lateral plane, ~and more: freeboard. Exactly-now. far designers;, will; go in tho directions, indicated'caiironlybe shown by time, but' I do not anticipate any radical alteration in typo, but merely a modification in the directions indicated. One thing 'is certain, that good wholesome boats can bo built with a much better chance of winning prizes. • If this rule is adopted ;by the I P.N.Y.C. I trust it will be'.,turned to practical account and that it will not | become a dead letter.

.Local yachtsmen will regret to- hear that Mr.* Berkeley Clarke," owner of the Mawhiti, left for Sydney last week'and took the Mawhiti with .him. ■ Mr. Clarke \vas a very enthusiastic and popular -op sn[ piic ''O'A'M'd ot lV jo .loqutaui, partu'ro will bo keenly felt. Tho Mawhiti is -the type of boat that would suit the now ilnternati.Tial rule, and I hope that slip will have a successful career in Sydnoy..